You’ve been through a lot in the last few weeks—an investigation, a hearing, a “responsible” (guilty) verdict. If you’ve found your way to this page, you’re likely facing a serious sanction, like suspension or dismissal, and if that sanction hasn’t yet gone into effect, it soon will. Your case isn’t over just yet, though. At least, it doesn’t have to be. You still have a chance to appeal your case outcome. There’s still an opportunity to salvage your educational future and get your career back on track.
You don’t want to go into Cal State Los Angeles’s appeals process by yourself, though. An appeal is a tricky procedure, one few students really understand.
Whatever your situation, the attorneys at the LLF National Law Firm are on your side. Our Student Defense Team understands the stakes, and we’re experienced representing student clients. We’ve helped hundreds of students protect themselves, and we know Cal State LA processes and procedures including how to file appeals.
You need to contact us immediately, though. There is a limited window of time from the end of your hearing to file your appeal. You need to be building you case as quickly as you can. Call the LLF National Law Firm today at 888-535-3686, or use our online questionnaire to tell us more about your situation.
Cal State LA Appeals
Many of our clients assume that an appeal is a second chance to present their defense, a second chance to prove their innocence. The original hearing panel obviously didn’t get things right, but perhaps an appeals panel will.
In fact, everything about your case has changed, and if you can’t shift your thinking, your appeal is doomed before it even begins.
- From the moment you were charged, you were afforded the presumption of “not responsible” (innocent). That’s a strong position to be in. You may have presented evidence of your innocence, but you didn’t have to. The burden rested on the university to provide a “preponderance of evidence” proving your responsibility. At this point, you’ve been found responsible.
- One of the things that means is that you can’t continue to argue for your innocence. That issue has been decided. The issue now is whether or not you were given a fair opportunity to make your case. What you need are “grounds” to support your appeal, arguments related to fairness. There are basically only four options.
- A procedural error occurred, significant enough to have affected the case outcome.
- New evidence has arisen that could potentially affect the case outcome.
- Someone involved in the case had an unfair bias against you.
- The sanction the university imposed is disproportionate to the offense.
- “Grounds” are essentially an allegation against the university. That is, you are now the accuser, and the university is the accused. That also means you now have the burden of providing a preponderance of evidence. Only a preponderance of evidence will earn you a new hearing.
- There are no hearings in appeals cases. Your arguments and evidence must all be contained in the written appeal. That means you will not have a chance to explain things in person or make your case in your own voice.
- All of your evidence must be drawn from the record of the original hearing. Even if you have discovered some new piece of evidence, you can only use that to explain that you didn’t have a fair chance to defend yourself.
- Decision-makers cannot find you “not responsible.” Again, that issue was decided at the hearing. They can affirm the responsible decision, reduce the terms of your sanction, or order a new hearing.
Your LLF National Law Firm attorney’s role in this process is to work with you to identify adequate grounds to support your appeal. They’ll go over the entire case with you, paying particular attention to the record of the original hearing. Once they’ve identified grounds, they’ll draft the appeal itself and ensure it is filed on time. As the process unfolds, they’ll also make sure that you’re treated fairly and that Cal State LA affords you all the due process rights to which you are entitled.
What’s at Stake?
Keep in mind that suspension and dismissal aren’t just suspension and dismissal. Those are serious enough sanctions, but they include a transcript notation about the nature of your offense. That’s the real punishment. That notation means you probably can’t transfer to another school. It means that even if you are allowed to continue at Cal State LA, you’ll likely lose your financial aid package. Most importantly, you’ll have to explain that notation every time you go in for a job interview. Employers aren’t usually excited at the prospect of hiring someone with a history of disciplinary misconduct.
The good news, of course, is that you can win your appeal. The process wouldn’t exist otherwise. An appeal is an opportunity to correct mistakes that may have occurred in your case, and it turns out that colleges and universities make lots of mistakes when it comes to dispensing justice. Investigations aren’t conducted by highly trained detectives; hearings aren’t overseen by seasoned prosecutors with law degrees. Everything is run by faculty, students, and administrators with minimal training. When mistakes occur, you have the right to challenge the outcome of your case.
Keep in mind as well that this time around, you’re not taking on Cal State LA on your own. You have an LLF National Law Firm attorney on your side helping you make sense of the process.
One Final Option
There’s yet one more important reason to trust your case to an LLF National Law Firm attorney. Even if you should lose your appeal, they may be able to offer you one more chance at a fair settlement.
The LLF National Law Firm maintains relationships with OGC around the country. OGC—or Offices of General Counsel—are lawyers hired to provide colleges and universities with legal advice. Their opinions carry enormous weight with school administrators. On occasion, the firm has managed to leverage its relationships with OGC to negotiate better terms for our clients. We have, in the past, convinced administrators to remove transcript notations, lessen sanctions, and even dismiss charges altogether.
Only the LLF National Law Firm can offer you this service, though, because only the LLF National Law Firm is dedicated to student defense.
How Can the LLF National Law Firm Help?
Whether you’re entirely innocent or simply looking to get fair treatment from Cal State Los Angeles, you owe it to yourself to continue the fight. We’re here and ready to help. We’ll guide you through the entire appeals process, make sure you put forward your very strongest arguments, and guarantee the university respects your rights.
As we said in the beginning, though, you cannot afford to wait. There are deadlines for filing your appeal. Get started now. Contact the LLF National Law Firm at 888-535-3686 or use our online form.